Outside pipe cutter



' Oct. 10, 1939. VENTRESCA 2,175,622

OUTSIDE PIPE CUTTER Filed Aug. 30, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z6 s Y glwucwton 3 ERc0LE VENTRESCA.

Oct; 10, 1.939. E VENTRESCA 2,175,622 OUTSIDE PIPE CUTTER Filed Aug. 30, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jn'un". '0'! ERCOLE VENTRESCA 66% W 4. 11 .5. 5%mw Patented Oct. 10, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,175,622 OUTSIDE PIPE CUTTER Ercole Ventrcsca, Houston, Tex.

Application August 30,

11 Claims.

The invention relates to an outside pipe cutter which can be telescoped over a piece of pipe in a well bore and a cut executed to remove a section of such pipe.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a cutter which will be held inoperative while the tool is being lowered into the well bore and which provides an actuating mechanism which can thereafter be released so as to automatically l advance the cutters.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wedge ring which may be released by engagement of the tool with the pipe to be cut and which will automatically advance the cutter upon rotation of the tool without further recourse to contact with the pipe.

Another object of the invention is to provide an outside pipe cutter wherein a driving mechanism is released by'engagement with the pipe.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cutter member for outside pipe cutters wherein a pair of cutter blades are arranged in spaced relation.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of the tool as it is ready to be lowered into the well bore and showing the actuating mechanism held inoperative.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 1 except that the tool has been telescoped over the pipe and the actuating mechanism released to perform the cut.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a slightly modified form of the invention showing gripping members for engaging the pipes to release the actuating mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a section taken view shown in Fig. 4. 7

Figs. 6 and '7 are sections taken on the lines {5-6 and l- 1, respectively, of Fig. 5.

' In Fig. l a section of pipe 2 serves as a housing and is arranged to have a shoe 3 threaded at 4 to the lower end thereof so that the tool may be rotated as it is lowered into the well bore to remove accumulations of material from around the pipe which is to be cut. This housing is lowered into the well bore by means of a string of pipe 5 which serves as an operating string to raise, lower and rotate the tool.

The housing 2 is provided with transversely of the a plurality of 1937, Serial No. 161,536

openings 1 which are here shown as three in number. Each of these openings is shielded by flange 8 and carries a cross-pin 9 upon which the cutter'member I0 is pivoted. The cutter member is made up of a hub H and a pair of blades l2 and [3. These blades may be formed integral with the hub and are of identical construction, being arranged in parallel relationship with a small space 14 between the blades. Two blades are provided so that the cutting action may be 1 speeded up and there will be a sufficient clearance between the blades to accommodate the cuttings. In event one blade becomes broken the cut may be performed by the other blade.

With a double blade of this sort a better cut may be made because two narrow cutters will fit against a small diameter pipe. With a single wide blade even a slight dulling of the blade results in a contact back of the point of the blade due to the curved surface of the pipe.

In order to actuate these blades a wedge ring I! is slidably mounted within the housing 2 and has a beveled face l8 thereon which is arranged to abut against the curved surface IQ of the cutter members so as to cause them to pivot inwardly as seen in Fig. 2 to effect the cutting of the pipe 20. This wedge ring I! is normally urged toward the cutter members by a coil spring 22 which is confined inside of the housing below the wedge ring and against the upper end of the shoe 3. When the tool is being lowered into position it is desirable to retain this actuating mechanism in an inoperative condition and one or more shear pins 23 may be passed through the housing and the wedge ring as seen in Fig. 1. This pin holds the wedge ring from contacting the cutter blades and driving them inwardly. In order to hold the cutter members from accidental inward movement unt'l the cut is to be performed, a spring 25 is carried by the Wedge ring H where it projects into a recess 26 in the ring and extends upwardly to be received in a pocket 21 in the cutter member. The tension of this spring serves to hold the cutter blades retracted so long as the wedge ring remains inoperative.

When the wedge ring moves upwardly, as seen in Fig. 2, to move the cutter members inwardly, however, the relative movement between the blade and the ring will cause the spring to move out of the pocket 21 so as not to interfere with the cutting operation. This position of the parts is seen in Fig. 2.

When the cutting tool arrives at the elevation where the cut is to be made it is necessary to release this wedge ring I! and to accomplish this release a sleeve 30 is slidably mounted within the housing and carries a plurality of inwardly extending fingers 3| These fingers are arranged to engage beneath the lower end 32 of a coupling on the pipe so that if the cutting tool is moved upwardly until these fingers engage a coupling then the sleeve will be held by the coupling and the fingers 3! against further upward movement. This sleeve 30 has a plurality of splines or tongues 33 thereon which straddle the flanges 8 on the cutters and abut against the upper end of the wedge ring at 34. Therefore, when the sleeve 30 is held immovable by contacting the coupling if the cutter tool is raised thereafter the pin or pins 23 will be sheared to release the wedge ring I1. The tool must be lowered, however, so as to move the fingers 3| away from the coupling 32 so that the force of the spring 22 will move the wedge ring against the cutter. Of

the wedge ring after it has moved away from the coupling 32. It is only necessary to then rotate the tool and the wedge ring will auto- Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, show a slightly modified form of the invention which is particularly adapted for use with smooth or flush joint pipe wherein engagement of the tool with a pipe coupling ing above the cutter blades so that it will move downwardly against the cutters to pivot them inwardly during the cutting operation. The shear pin 23 is the same as previously described. In order to release the wedge ring I! a short sleeve is slidably mounted within the housing 2 and carries a set of slip jaws 5|. These jaws are limited in their sliding movement by the retainer pins 52 and they are arranged to slide sheared to release the wedge ring 11 for movement against the cutter blades.

In order that the spring 22, which is positioned below the cutter blades l0, may exert a pressure tube 55 downwardly.

The upper end of the tube 55 is provided with a plurality of openings 58 I1 by means of the screws 6|, as best seen in Fig. 5. The parts are constructed in this manto provide the tongues 62, as seen in Fig. 5. These tongues straddle the cutter members l0 and it is through the hooks 59 that the downward pull is exerted on the wedge ring to move it against the inclined surface 19 of the cutter members. In operation this form of the invention will be the same as described in connection with Fig. 1 except that the wedge ring can be released by an of a coupling on the pipe or whether a flush joint smooth surface pipe is to be cut because the slips 5| will grip the pipe at any point when the tool is moved upwardly.

What is claimed is:

1. An outside pipe cutter comprising a housing, cutter members pivoted therein, a wedge ring to actuate said cutters, spring means to move said ring, means to hold said ring inoperative, and additional means directly engaging said ring and adapted to engage the pipe to be cut and to release said ring upon longitudinal movement of said housing.

2. An outside pipe cutter comprising a housing, cutter members pivoted therein, a wedge ring to actuate said cutters, spring means to move said ring, means to hold said ring inoperative, additional means directly engaging said ring and forced against said ring upon upward movement of said housing to shear said pin and release said ring to engage said cutters.

4. An outside pipe cutter comprising a housing, cutter blades therein, a wedge ring to engage said cutters, a spring to move said ring, a shear pin normally holding said ring in said housing against movement and said spring collapsed, and means to engage the pipe to be cut and to be forced against said ring upon upward movement of said housing to shear said pin and release said ring so that upon subsequent lowering of the housing the ring will be forced under the influence of said spring to engage said cutters, said last means including a sleeve having spring fingers thereon.

5. An outside pipe cutter including cutter blades, a wedge ring to actuate said blades, spring is lowered following the shearing of said pin.

6. A pipe cutter including a housing,

8. An outside pipe cutter comprising cutter members, a wedge ring to actuate said members, a skirt on said ring, a tube depending from said skirt, and spring means urging said tube to move said ring, said tube straddling said cutters.

9. An outside pipe cutter comprising cutter members, a wedge ring to actuate said members, a skirt on said ring, a tube depending from said skirt, and spring means urging said tube to move said ring, said skirt having hooks to receive said tube.

10. A pipe cutter including, a shell arranged to encircle a pipe to be cut, an internal abutment at the lower end of the shell, a sleeve slidable in the shell and having openings, a plurality of cutters pivoted in the shell and movable through the openings of the sleeve into the bore of said sleeve, elements on the upper end of the sleeve for engaging a joint of the pipe to be cut to arrest upward movement of said sleeve, means within the shell movable to engage the swinging ends of said cutters to engage them with the pipe to be cut, and a coiled spring disposed between said abutment and said means and under sufficient compression to move said means upwardly and apply said cutters to the pipe with sufficient force to cut said pipe when the shell is rotated.

11. A pipe cutter including, a shell arranged to encircle a pipe to be cut, an internal abutment at the lower end of the shell, a sleeve slidable in the shell and having openings, a plurality of cutters pivoted in the shell and movable through the openings of the sleeve into the bore of said sleeve, elements on the upper end of the sleeve for engaging the joint of the pipe to be cut to arrest upward movement of said sleeve, means within the shell movable to engage the swinging ends of said cutters to engage them with the pipe to be cut, a coil spring disposed between the abutment and said means and below the cutters and under suificient compression to move said means upwardly and apply said cutters to the pipe with sufficient force to out said pipe when the shell is rotated.

ERCOLE VEN'I'RESCA. 

